Ruth Wilson: Okay At Job.

Recently I've been streaming the US TV Show; "The Affair." All five seasons of it.

Although it would only serve to pretend that a war is over when it really isn't I should probably take a detailed look at the 2014 show in its entirety.

Like the 2014 Movie "Gone Girl" it features this interesting He Said/She Said narrative device. That makes it relevant to any discussion about any form of human relationship. Particularly contentious ones such as rape allegations.

It is perhaps ironic then that the production was almost torn to pieces by the frenzied backlash that was the #MeToo movement.

As the title suggests the show is all about love, lust, sex and infidelity. As such it also makes large contributions to any discussion about what is acceptable in terms of sexual content on TV. Including the way that sexual content is produced and its impact on those involved.

Although I think Lina Esco should take note. The directors of The Affair did manage to shoot those vital sex scenes in Season 3, Episode 7 without having to Free the Nipple.

However here I'm only going to focus on the British actress Ruth Wilson. Who plays the central, American character; "Alison Bailey." She is an actress a lot of people have been keeping an eye for a long time.

British viewers though may not be familiar with her because she's been off in America doing The Affair since 2014. While American viewers might not be familiar with the work she did prior to The Affair.

Once you know the origin story you might want to go back and re-watch The Affair.

Some of you may remember that back in 1999 there was this global movie phenomenon; "Blair Witch Project."

All the promotional work behind the movie claimed that it was the result of a real event. A group of hikers had gone off into the woods and disappeared. This found footage was all that ever recovered of them.

In 2008 the British TV network Channel 4 tried repeating the trick. Heavily advertising the special feature length documentary it was going to air. Called; "The Doctor Who Hears Voices."

The claim was that a documentary team had been following a group of about six junior doctors around as they completed their training.

However during filming one of the doctors suffered a psychotic breakdown. That doctor's story then became the documentary maker's sole focus. The film being the result.

It was of course all fake. Ruth Wilson played the junior doctor who supposedly had the psychotic breakdown.

In that role Ruth Wilson was just astonishingly convincing. Trust me, I know the actual psychotic junior doctor she was pretending to be.

As an actress this is an incredibly difficult thing to do. On a par with Julianne Moore's Oscar winning role in the 2014 movie; "Still Alice." In which she portrayed a woman slowly being consumed by dementia.

What makes a role like that so difficult is that the fact your brain is working properly makes it almost impossible to behave as though your brain is not working properly.

So yes. You might want to take another look at that storyline about Alison Bailey wanting to return to her training as a junior doctor.

Off the back of The Doctor Who Hears Voices Ruth Wilson was cast in the BBC drama; "Luther." Playing the sociopathic/psychotic "Alice Morgan" character.

So Ruth Wilson is rather someone who has to carry the burden of being greeted by everyone she meets with the words;

"You make a very convincing psychotic."

Whilst working on The Affair Ruth Wilson provided one of the voices in the 2014 movie; "Locke." The wife. Not the Croydon trash who claimed to be having Tom Hardy's baby.

Just in case you were wondering why the Noah Soloway character drove a black BMW X5 in The Affair.

Such is Ruth Wilson's professional reputation that in 2018 the BBC allowed her to make the drama mini-series; "Mrs Wilson." In which she played the character "Alison Wilson" - her own grandmother.

Rather like mine Ruth Wilson's grandfather apparently got up to some very sketchy things in the Second World War. A detail which makes me feel very protective of her. Almost as if we were cousins or something.

I think Ruth Wilson is now best known for her role in the BBC/HBO drama; "His Dark Materials." Where she plays the "Marisa Coulter" character.

If you still don't know what all the fuss is about go and watch that scene in Episode 3 of His Dark Materials. Where the Gyptian boy falls down the elevator shaft. Leaving Ruth Wilson to act alongside her CGI Gibbon Daemon.

So I don't know what you all thought of Ruth Wilson's sex scenes in The Affair. But for me the "Ick" factor was through the roof.

It's certainly a funny name on that Executive Producer though, isn't it.

17:20 on 30/12/19 (UK date).